MSI Press Blog

  Walk into a parish hall on a Lenten Friday and you’ll often find the same scene: steaming pots of soup, simple bread, people chatting softly, kids running underfoot, and a sense of gentle community. But why soup? And why Fridays? The answer is beautifully simple—and deeply rooted in the spirit of Lent. 1. Fridays are days of communal sacrifice During Lent, Catholics abstain from meat on Fridays as a small act of solidarity with Christ’s sacrifice. It’s not about dieting; it’s about choosing simplicity so the heart can pay attention to what matters most. Soup—humble, nourishing, and meatless—fits the day perfectly. It’s a meal that reflects the Church’s call to detachment and simplicity during this season . 2. Soup suppers turn fasting into fellowship Lent can be a solitary journey, but it was never meant to be lonely. Parish soup dinners transform a day of penance into a moment of community: sharing a simple meal supporting one another in the Lenten journey creating s...

  Last year, I decided to “do something meaningful” for Lent. I gave up red meat—simple enough, I thought. A small sacrifice, a gesture of discipline, and certainly nothing dramatic. Except it was dramatic. Red meat also happens to be the most absorbable form of iron, something my 75‑year‑old body apparently relies on more than I realized. My iron levels had been excellent— very excellent—just a few weeks earlier at my annual checkup. Then Lent arrived, I dutifully avoided red meat, and by Easter I was seriously anemic. It took six months of iron pills to climb back to normal. When I told my doctor what I had done, he didn’t prescribe a new medication or order a battery of tests. He simply said, with the kind of dry understatement only a seasoned physician can deliver: “Try commonsense.” And honestly, that may be the best Lenten advice I’ve ever received. Lent isn’t supposed to break us. It isn’t a contest in self‑punishment or a test of how cleverly we can deprive oursel...

  Every Lent, the same question surfaces at dinner tables and parish gatherings: Why fish? Why does the Church ask Catholics to abstain from meat on Fridays, yet allow salmon, shrimp, or a tuna sandwich? The answer is older—and more meaningful—than most people realize. 1. It begins with Friday itself For Christians, Friday is the day of the Passion. It’s the weekly remembrance of Christ’s crucifixion. From the earliest centuries, believers marked Friday with some form of penance. Not dramatic gestures—just a small, steady act of self‑denial that kept the memory of Christ’s sacrifice close to daily life. 2. Meat meant feasting In the ancient Mediterranean world, meat wasn’t an everyday food. It was celebratory—weddings, festivals, victories, homecomings. To give up meat was to give up something rich, festive, and symbolic of abundance. Abstaining from it became a quiet way of stepping back from celebration and entering a posture of humility. Fish, by contrast, was ordinary food. It ...